The Ring
by Doctor Emmit Brown
Summary: Akane finds her mother's old jewelry box and finds an unexpected piece of jewelry therein. Her quest for answers leads her to learning a new art: Martial Arts Body Art! Rated M for a reason folks!
1. Chapter 1

The Ring

Ranma ½ and the characters therein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, not me.

I must be some sort of sexual deviant or something, because all I can seem to write lately is dirty…

---***---

"Ah ha!" shouted a dusty Akane. She'd finally found what she was looking for in the attic. She straightened up from under the pile of boxes she was searching, and held her treasure up to the light. It was a small wooden box, completely devoid of any ornaments other than a brass hook and eye keeping the lid closed. She opened the lid and looked inside. There she saw an arrangement of jewelry, some of it old and outdated, but still beautiful to look at. Besides, Akane would never pawn off any of it. It belonged to her mother.

She stood there in the dim light for a short while, admiring the jewels. She was hoping to find something that she could wear often to honor her mother, something simple but elegant, perhaps some diamond earrings or a gold necklace. She was sifting through the jewels when she heard a click. Curious, she looked under her finger to see that a small trap door had opened in the bottom of the box, revealing a small secret compartment. She must have pushed down on the door, opening the spring loaded latch. Lifting the tiny door, she peered inside, and found an unusual piece of jewelry. It was silver, shaped like a "C" and had diamonds mounted in small silver cups on both ends of the curve. She looked inside the compartment, thinking that it was an earring, but she didn't see its pair. Besides which, there didn't seem to be a way to hook it to an ear.

"What is this?" she wondered aloud.

---***---

The curious piece of jewelry continued to perplex her that evening as she took her bath. She was sitting in the furo, staring at it in the palm of her hand, trying to figure out just what it was. She reached out her other hand to touch one of gems, and was surprised to find that it could rotate. Holding it in her fingers, she twisted the gem until the mounting came off in her hand. Akane briefly panicked that she had broken her mother's jewelry, but then noticed that the gem was meant to screw on and off of the base like that. Maybe it was an earring after all and this was how you put it on. Still, you'd need a rather big hole in your ear to wear it.

She looked up when she heard the door open and in walked Kasumi wearing a robe. "Oh! I'm sorry Akane! I didn't know anybody was in here," she apologized.

"It's OK Onee-san," replied the younger woman. "I must have forgotten to put the sign up. You can join me if you want though!" She smiled at her older sister.

Kasumi smiled back and disrobed. She quickly washed herself before entering the tub, sitting across from Akane. "What's that in your hand?" she asked.

Akane looked up from her pondering surprised, almost as if she had forgotten her sister was even in the room with her. She held out her hand. "I found Mom's old jewelry box up in the attic and this was in a secret compartment inside. I can't figure out what it is or how to wear it though."

Kasumi held out her hand for the ornament, and Akane gave it to her. The older woman examined it briefly, before her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Umm, Akane, this is a body piercing. Are you sure you got this from Mother's jewelry box?"

Akane's eyes bulged as well. "A body piercing? Mom?"

"Yes…" replied Kasumi. "I wasn't aware that she had one either, but my friend Michiko has one in her belly button that looks kind of like this." She continued to stare at the piercing, trying to figure out what it was doing in her mother's box. "I don't recall ever seeing a belly ring on Mother though…"

Akane took the ring back from her sister and examined it once more, looking at it in a different light now that she understood what it was for. Then an idea struck her. "That picture of all of us at the beach! Mom was wearing a bikini that day. That was about a month before she passed away wasn't it?"

Kasumi thought about the picture, remembering the trip. "Yes, it was. We can look at it after we get out of the bath. I know which album it's in."

---***---

Twenty minutes later they were rifling through the picture album trying to find the pictures from that day at the beach. The two sisters were somewhat misty eyed at the reminiscing they were doing, all the reminders of their long deceased mother, but they were happy to be doing the reminiscing with each other. Finally they came to the picture taken by a passer by, a picture of the entire family sitting together on the blanket, Kasumi about eight years old standing next to her father, and Akane only five, sitting in her mother's lap. A six year old Nabiki was smiling and waving a shovel at the camera. Soun was looking much younger, and had his arm around his beautiful wife.

"Akane, you look so much like her," Kasumi said as they looked at the picture. It was true, right down to the hairstyle Akane was a dead ringer for her mother. Even the body type, it was obvious that the woman had been an avid martial artist as well, as her bikini showed off her toned and muscled body. There was one problem though.

"There's no ring," Akane said. "There's not even a hole, or a scar where there would be a hole for a piercing. She wasn't pierced there." She looked at her sister, about to ask the obvious question, when she noticed that Kasumi had become even paler than usual. "Kasumi?"

"Michiko has other piercings that looks like this," Kasumi replied. "I was hoping I was wrong, but Mother doesn't have one in her belly button, and I don't ever remember seeing her with a piercing on her… chest… when we bathed with her. There's only one other place it could be. "

Curiosity gnawed at Akane. She had to know what had caused her sister to have such a strong reaction. "What? Where?"

Kasumi's pallor changed suddenly from pale to bright red. She leaned in close to Akane and whispered into her ear. Akane's eyes widened and her own face turned beet red. "In her WHAT?"

---***---

The next day, Akane found herself standing in front of a tattoo and piercing parlor, rather surprised to find that not only was it not in a seedy side of town, but that it also looked rather clean and professional inside. Even so, she was still extremely nervous about being here. It was a snap decision really to go visit Kasumi's friend Michiko, but she had to know where exactly her mother had been pierced, and she wasn't about to ask her father.

There was also the other reason she was here that was making her so nervous. There wasn't much in her mother's jewelry box that she'd want to wear every day, this was the only thing in the box that kept her interest. She was still trying to decide if she even wanted to be pierced, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

She opened the door to the parlor, jumping when the bells tied to the other side of the handle jingled to announce her entry. She berated herself for being so nervous, but it didn't seem to help calm her down much. She walked up to the tattooed and pierced woman behind the counter. She didn't think she'd ever seen someone with so much metal in her head at once. She had two rings through an eyebrow, umpteen up and down both ears, and even one in her nose. The woman's hair was streaked with pink, and she had tattoo sleeves on her arms, and one of a panda on her neck. That last one made Akane chuckle despite herself as it made her think of her fiancé's slothful father.

"Hi! Welcome to Martial Arts Body Art!" the woman chirped. "I'm Michiko, what can I do for you?"

Akane couldn't help but wonder how her conservative and traditional sister could have ever been friends with the woman smiling at her from behind the counter. "Um… yes, my name is Akane and…"

"Akane? Akane Tendo? Kasumi's little sister?" Michiko interrupted. When Akane nodded, the tattooed woman ran around the counter and enveloped Akane in a hug. "It's been so long! How are you doing? How's Kasumi? She get her hooks into that doctor yet?"

Akane was startled. "You know me?"

Michiko smiled. "I used to babysit you when I was in middle school with your sister. Back then I didn't have all the tattoos and piercings. Well, not ones you could see anyway," she admitted. "Gosh it's been at least a year since I heard from Kasumi last. You'll have to give me your phone number so that I can call her!"

Akane giggled despite herself, now remembering her old babysitter, and calming down at the familiar presence. "Kasumi's doing fine, but she hasn't hooked Dr Tofu yet. I'll give you our number so that she can tell you about it herself."

"Great! But you're not here to reminisce with your old babysitter are you?" She gave Akane a conspiratorial wink. "Trying to rebel are we? Going to get your boyfriend's name tattooed on the small of your back? Don't worry, I won't tell your sister."

Akane blushed brightly and shook her head. "No, not a tattoo, I was actually wondering if you could tell me what kind of piercing this is," she said as she fished the ring out of her pocket. "I know it's not an earring, and I don't think it's a belly button ring either."

Michiko picked up the ring in her fingers and examined it. "Oh that's easy, it's a curved barbell. Usually these are used as body piercings. Though, I've never seen one with diamonds in it like this, usually they have beads or metal balls in them. It must have cost a pretty penny. Where did you get it?"

Akane turned beet red. "I found it in my mother's old jewelry box," she mumbled.

Michiko's eyes boggled. "Really? Cool! So you want to get pierced to be like her? Where did she have it done?"

Akane turned an interesting shade of purple, and unable to voice her response, settled for pointing towards her crotch.

Michiko just smiled at the younger girl. She wasn't the first person to get cold feet about piercings and certainly wouldn't be the last. It was obvious that despite the rather intimate nature of the piercing, it was something Akane wanted to do, she just needed a little push. "Tell you what," Michiko said. "I'm closing up the parlor in about an hour. Why don't you hang out here, browse the jewelry counter and maybe some idea books, and we'll go out to dinner together afterwards to catch up? Sound good?"

Relieved that the subject had changed, Akane nodded and went to sit down in the waiting area. Michiko watched amused as most of the tension left the younger woman's body. She was going to make her quota this week thanks to Akane.

---***---

Later, Akane found herself in a small stylish bar sitting across from her old babysitter as they munched on appetizers. Michiko had a big mug of beer in front of her, and had drained one already. "Seriously Akane, ask for a beer! They know me here, and they'll believe me if I tell them that you're 20." She took another drink from her mug. "Or would you prefer something fruity? The bartender makes a mean Cosmo."

Akane blushed and shook her head. She wasn't even sure Michiko was 20 for that matter. She tried to change the subject. "So, why is your parlor called 'Martial Arts Body Art' anyway?" she asked before taking a sip of her cola.

"Oh, well that's the name of my school of martial arts," she replied. "I guess you could say that the parlor is my own personal dojo." Michiko was disappointed to see that Akane's mind wasn't blown at this revelation. Instead the younger woman was nodding her head sagely. "What, you've heard of it?"

"No, but it's not the weirdest martial art I've heard of," said Akane, waving the question off. "What kind of moves and attacks does it have?"

Michiko just stared at Akane. Then she waved down the waiter. "I'm going to need another mug, and Akane wants a Cosmo. Don't worry she's 20." When the waiter rushed off to fill the order, Michiko held a finger to Akane's lips to prevent her from protesting. "You just told me that you've heard of weirder martial arts than tattooing and piercing. That means that either I've not had enough to drink, or I've had too much and you need to catch up. So we'll cover all the bases here by getting both of us a drink while you explain what you meant by that."

---***---

About thirty minutes later the two women were eating their meals and laughing uproariously. Akane had three empty martini glasses in front of her, and was working on the fourth as she explained the subtleties of Martial Arts Eating. "So here's Ranma, starving to death trying to learn how to stretch his mouth so that he can eat off of his own head without using his hands, when the… restraints… fall off of his body because he's lost so much weight, but his pride won't let him just leave the mansion. He has to beat this guy, so he goes into the fight anyway." She took another sip of her drink. "Turns out the secret to the petit-bouche school was to force feed everyone else in the room so that you had less to eat on your own plate. Man, these things are really good."

Michiko, for her part, had five empty steins in front of her and was half way through the sixth. It was taking her longer to drink this one though because she kept cracking up at the stories about Akane's fiancé and all the martial artists who he came up against. "So, this Ranma guy, you like him don't you?" she asked.

"What?" Akane said. "Nooooo no nonono. He's a pervert with three other women chasing after him. Don't like him at all."

Michiko smiled. It seemed that she had a much higher tolerance for alcohol than her drinking buddy. "Oh come off it Akane, I asked you about the other martial arts schools you'd heard of that were as weird as the one I practice, and all you've talked about for the last thirty minutes was this guy and how amazing he is at picking them up really quickly."

Akane blushed. Her head was spinning and she wasn't exactly sure what she had said over that thirty minute period anymore. "Well, what about your school? What do you do in it?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Michiko just smiled all the wider, knowing that she had her answer. "Well, it's a combination of piercings and tattoos that stimulate the ki centers and gates in order to enhance your own abilities." She pointed to the rings in her eyebrow. "These help with my concentration." Then she pointed to the tattoos on her arms. "This design increases my strength and endurance." Finally she lifted her shirt and showed her pierced naval. "This one was just for fun!"

Akane cracked up at that last one. "So what does a… umm… hood piercing do then?" she asked timidly.

Michiko's smile turned shark-like. "Well, when done normally, it just increases the pleasure of foreplay and sex." She laughed out loud when Akane turned that interesting purple color again and took a big swig of her Cosmo. "When a student of Martial Arts Body Art does it however, it opens up a ki gate, and allows you to touch your reserves much easier." She held out her hand for Akane and concentrated. A small ball of ki formed in her hand, similar to what Akane had seen Ranma and Ryoga do. "There are other ways to learn how to do this, but the right piercing in the right place can make it so much easier to access your own ki that you don't have to muck around with emotions that are hard to call up in battle or stand there shouting for hours on end giving yourself a hernia."

Akane was amazed by the fact that this small woman was able to summon power to her hand like Ranma could, who was much stronger than she. "You have a piercing down there?" she asked, transfixed on the ball of ki in Michiko's hand.

"Yup! Got one in my labia too, but that does something different. I can show you in the bathroom if you like," she offered.

Akane just sat back and shook her head. If she could summon ki like this, she might be able to scare off her rivals. Ranma would certainly sit up and take notice. But there was the location… "Is there any other way to open a ki gate like that piercing does?" she asked.

Michiko shook her head. "Not really. On a guy they'd have to get it done through the foreskin, or lower down the shaft if he was circumcised. Doesn't work as well if he's cut though," she added thoughtfully. "There are some tattoos that could increase the rate of flow of your ki, but that wouldn't help you much if you didn't already have easy access to it."

Akane looked down at her meal, deep in thought as she picked at it with her chopsticks. It was so tempting to say yes, in order to get stronger; in order to prove herself as a martial artist, in order to prove herself to Ranma. But the place it had to go…

The bell on the door of the restaurant jingled as a new customer walked in the door. Akane was still deep in thought, so she ignored the new presence, until the newcomer walked up to their table. "So Shampoo was right about Kitchen-wrecker! Is on a secret date yes?"

Akane turned her head slowly, groaning at what she knew was going to be a big problem. She was too drunk to handle this right now. "Hello Shampoo," she said through gritted teeth.

The Amazon was holding an empty take out box, obviously on a delivery run bringing food for the proprietors of the restaurant. "Now Shampoo know why you with Ranma. Is a good way to hide Pervert Girl's true feelings!"

Michiko frowned at the newcomer. This was obviously one of the rivals Akane had mentioned briefly, by her obvious lack of proficiency with Japanese, she was probably the Chinese woman. "Akane's not a girlfriend," she managed without slurring. "She's an old friend and we're catching up."

Shampoo ignored the older woman. "Is ok Akane, many womens in tribe like other womens. Shampoo wish you luck!" She then leaned over and gave Akane a kiss on the forehead. "Now Ranma belong to Shampoo!"

That was the final straw. Akane took a swipe at Shampoo, missing widely as the Amazon jumped back laughing. She tried to stand to continue the fight, but stumbled as her alcohol addled head threw off her balance. Shampoo pranced up to her rival and poked her with a finger, knocking the drunk woman on her ass with very little effort. Michiko stood to defend her friend, glowing a dark shade of purple as she began to gather her ki for battle.

Shampoo watched as the new challenger began to form her ki into a ball in her hands. This was an unexpected turn of events, one she was unprepared for. She quickly got into a defensive stance, ready to take on the pierced and tattooed woman.

Akane knew she had to do something or else this little bar was going to end up a big crater. If only she hadn't finished her last drink, she could throw it on Shampoo, transforming her. "Ugh," Akane burped as the thought of another drink made her nauseous. Then, without warning, it made her sick. All over Shampoo's shoes.

Shampoo felt the warm wetness splash against her feet, and looked down to see Akane throwing up all over them. "Gah!" she screamed as she jumped out of the way, too late to be missed completely. Her shoes were ruined. She glared furiously at Akane who was still sitting on the floor, swaying a bit now. Shampoo was about to beat on the drunk girl, but decided it would be a waste of energy. Vengeance would be so much more satisfying when the object of her vengeance was coherent enough to understand what was going on. "Shampoo think you deserve each other," she huffed as she stormed out of the restaurant, got on her bike, and sped off down the street.

Akane looked up at her friend, still stunned that Shampoo had taken smaller woman's aggressive stance as a viable threat. She watched in awe as Michiko's aura died down, the purple color dissipating. Michiko let out a deep sigh as she let go of her control and relaxed. She held out a hand to help Akane stand up. "You ok?" she asked.

Akane only had one thing to say. "I want that power."

Michiko shark-like smile came back, and she helped Akane out of the restaurant and back to the parlor.

---***---

I've had this one floating around on my computer for a long time now. It was originally supposed to be a one shot lemon that kinda got away from me. The original idea came from the fact that I like women with piercings and tattoos in fun and interesting places, so I tried to figure out a way to get Akane to get some body art, thus sprang Martial Arts Body Art and her new master Michiko. Michiko is my own character, but she is heavily influenced on the character Abby Sciuto from the TV show NCIS.

And yes I know that tattoos are rather taboo in Japan, but it's losing it's Yakuza stereotype and becoming something that is more accepted by society. However, if you can't get over the fact that Japanese people who aren't Yakuza are going to be covered in tattoos, then you should just quit reading now and save us all a lot of stress.

By the way, my beta reader O'Donohugue liked her so much that he's borrowing her for a couple of his fics, most notably "Meeting Later." The reason I'm posting this first chapter instead of waiting to finish the whole thing is so that he can release his next chapter which features her introduction. Go read it! It's good!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Akane woke the next morning feeling as if her head and stomach were fighting over which one would be allowed to explode first. Groggily, she managed to slide out of bed and somehow make her way down to the bathroom without puking in the hallway. Having witnessed her father and future father-in-law hung over many a time, Akane knew that she had to drink lots of water in order to feel better. She wondered if Kasumi had any other kinds of remedies, but figured it would be a bad idea to admit to her older sister that she had gone out last night and gotten drunk with her old friend.

Turning on the tap full blast, Akane put her mouth under the running water and drank in long draughts. She tried to think back to how she had gotten home last night, and if anyone had seen her, but she couldn't remember anything after the third Cosmo. How did Michiko convince her to drink the first one again? Oh yeah, she just told her to. After that she started talking about Ranma… No, she couldn't remember what happened next.

Full of water, Akane turned off the tap and let out a rather unladylike belch. It made her feel better though, so she excused herself. She decided that the next thing she needed was a bath. Maybe the steam would help to clear her head a bit.

Shuffling out of the upstairs bathroom and down to the furo, Akane couldn't help but notice that she felt kind of sore between her legs, almost as if she had been doing high kicks all night. Had she been in a fight? A flash of purple shot through her memory. Shampoo was there? Maybe she had been fighting. But then why didn't she seem to have any other injuries?

She got to the change room and stripped out of the clothes she had been wearing last night. She grabbed a towel and entered the bath, thanking whatever deity was listening for her big sister who always kept the bath hot and ready.

Sitting on a stool, Akane started to go through the motions of scrubbing off the grime accumulated in the last day with a loofah. She was still disturbed that she couldn't seem to remember much of what had happened last night, but she figured it would all work itself out eventually. As she rubbed the loofah along her waist, it caught on something, which pulled on a much more sensitive part of her anatomy. Akane looked down, puzzled at what it might be, and saw something silver, with what looked like a diamond stuck in her sponge. "Oh no," Akane muttered as a feeling of dread washed over her. Gently, she reached between her legs and untangled her loofah from the gem. The gem that was attached to her in a rather intimate place via a silver "c" and another diamond on the other end.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Akane screamed, her hangover long forgotten.

Seconds after her scream died down, the door burst open and in rushed Ranma, looking for his fiancée's attacker. This of course caused Akane to scream once again.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Akane held her hands up at Ranma as if trying to push him away, and to her amazement, it worked. One second Ranma was scanning the furo for an attacker, the next his clothes were blown off his body by an incredible wind, and he was flying back through the door he came in and crashing into the wall on the far side of the change room. He fell naked and unconscious to the floor. What just happened?

The rest of the family, having heard the scream, came rushing in behind Ranma. They paused for a moment, staring at Ranma, then noticed Akane trying to cover herself with a washcloth that was way too small. Seeing that his daughter was fine, and extrapolating from the state of her fiancé that she had caught him peeking, Soun quickly turned away lest Akane turn her wrath on him. "Are you all right Akane?" he asked.

His daughter looked up from where her fiancé was lying, as if realizing that he were there for the first time. Quickly she covered her crotch with the washcloth. "Yes Daddy… I just… thought I saw a rat," she lied. "Ranma surprised me when he came in and I hit him."

Soun sighed with relief. "Ok, I'll call an exterminator tomorrow to check the house." With that, he left as quickly as possible.

Nabiki also sighed when she realized it was a false alarm, mumbling something about how early it was on a Sunday and went back to bed. Though, not before pulling a camera out of somewhere and taking a picture of the naked Ranma out cold on the floor. Kasumi checked over the entire room once more, nervously. "Rats?" she asked.

"I'm sure it was nothing," reassured Akane.

Kasumi let out a deeper sigh of relief, her head tilting back and her whole body going limp as the sudden terror left her. "Honestly Akane, don't scare me like that!" she admonished. Then she looked up at the ceiling again. "Where did that black mark come from?"

Akane looked up. Right above her was what looked like a scorch mark, as if there had been a fire lit directly where she was sitting on the stool. Had she done that? Did the piercing actually work? "I dunno," she replied, half honestly.

"Well, I'll have to clean it later then I suppose," said Kasumi. "I'll let you finish your bath first Akane. Breakfast is ready whenever you feel like coming down."

Akane nodded at her sister, and waited for her to disappear down the hallway before she got up off the stool and walked over to replace the door. The last thing she needed was for Kasumi to discover her new accessory. Not before she had a chance to test it out a bit.

Putting the door back on the track, Akane was about to slide it shut when she took a peek at her prone fiancé. He was still out cold, his arms and legs splayed out, his thumbs and pink and index fingers all pointing out in a warding gesture. But the thing that caught her attention was between his spread legs. Her mind took her back to the day they first met, and she realized that she'd never actually seen… it… before. She couldn't help but stare. A warm sensation began to pool in her belly…

Akane slammed the door shut, nearly knocking it off it's track again. She wasn't a pervert! He was! She went back to the stool and turned the shower head back on full blast. Cold water.

---***---

Mostly calmed down, but still buzzing a little on the inside, Akane entered her family dojo. She was dressed in her gi, as she was hoping to get some serious training in. Now that she knew that her piercing worked, she had to learn how to make it work for her, rather than only when she had an emotional outburst. She set up a number of training dummies in the room with the intention to see from how far away she could blast them.

Standing in the center of the dojo, Akane closed her eyes and concentrated. She already knew what it felt like to touch her ki, she'd done it many times before when booting Kuno or Ranma over the horizon, and all the ring was supposed to do was make it easier for her to access it. If she could just search herself for that feeling…

There! That was it! It felt like cold fire burning at her core. She took a deep breath, and concentrated on that feeling, trying to feed the flames and increase the power. She was able to make the flames burn hotter, but not without losing some of her control. Well she'd get better at that with practice, and maybe Michiko could help her to learn control.

Instead, Akane settled for reducing the power to something she could handle, and tried to move it. She found that she could concentrate it anywhere in her body she wanted, and figured that was probably what she'd done when she was angry. She opened her eyes to find that her right hand was glowing a deep blue. Shocked, she lost her concentration, and the glow faded.

Akane smiled toothily. The power gave her a little thrill up her spine. Concentrating on the same feeling brought the power to her hand once more, this time much easier than before. She pointed it at one of the dummies and tried to push it out. Nothing happened. Frowning, Akane decided to try something different and walked up to the dummy, punching it hard in the middle.

The dummy exploded in a burst of wood and straw as Akane's ki infused fist hit it. Her smile grew wider as the debris rained down all around her. She quickly forced her ki into her hands again, and danced around the dojo, causing all the dummies to explode in rapid succession.

Breathing hard, Akane came up to the last dummy, the one she had dressed as Ranma so long ago. A smirk appeared on her face, one usually found on her fiancé's face when he was in the middle of a fight. Concentrating, she forced ki into her hand once more, enjoying the fantasy that it really was Ranma standing in front of her as she brought her fist around in a powerful arc.

Again there was an explosion of material, but this time the straw dummy survived, and only its clothes were destroyed. Akane's body experienced a different sort of thrill as her fantasy of a real Ranma caused her to imagine him standing before her, all of his clothes blown off by her attack. The feeling was so strong, and came on so quickly, that it drove her to her knees. Akane panted as she tried to catch her breath. Where did that come from?

Eventually, she caught her breath, but the humming sensation stayed with her. It was the same sort of feeling she had felt that morning when she saw Ranma naked, but this time it wasn't going away. Taking a deep breath, Akane tried to get a grip on her hormones. Maybe if she laid off the training for today it would go away. She'd try it again tomorrow.

---***---

Akane's day was alternately amusing and frustrating. Amusing in that all day at school Ranma couldn't keep his eyes off of her, obviously studying her to try to figure out how exactly she blasted him back in the bath. He'd been reprimanded by their teachers multiple times for staring at her instead of paying attention, but he didn't seem to care. The fact that all the attention he was giving her was making Ukyo green with envy only made her grin more.

On the other hand it was a little frustrating because her new ornament was bothering her. It didn't hurt, but she could feel it all the time. She couldn't ignore it as it pressed against her sensitive flesh and pulled on her folds when she shifted in her seat. She tried to sit with her legs crossed to keep the sensations down, but it only marginally worked.

After school she told Ranma she had something to do before going home. In order to keep him from following her, she swallowed her pride and told him that she needed to go buy tampons. She almost laughed out loud at how quickly that excuse got him to back off. She'd have to remember that one for later.

Instead of heading to the drug store, Akane veered off in the direction of Michiko's parlor, hoping to be able to talk with her about her piercing, and how to control her newfound power more effectively.

She shivered uncontrollably mid-stride. Again her piercing had shifted unexpectedly and sent a jolt of electricity through her nervous system. That was going to have to be the first thing she asked Michiko: how to sit and walk without turning herself on.

Reaching the tattoo parlor without any further incidents, Akane pulled on the door, only to find that it was locked. Puzzled, Akane looked for a "closed" sign, but didn't see anything. Not even a handwritten sign to indicate that Michiko would be back soon. Strange, the parlor should be open this time of day.

Shrugging her shoulders, Akane turned and leaned against the storefront, settling in to wait until her new friend and sensei returned from wherever it was she had disappeared to. She was humming a tune to herself when she heard someone cry out.

Instantly, Akane came to attention, focusing her senses, listening for the next time the victim screamed. It didn't take long before she heard another moan, obviously torn from the throat of someone who was being tortured, or worse…

Zeroing in on the sound, Akane quickly determined that it was coming from inside the parlor itself. She looked through a window to assess the situation, but couldn't see anyone. Obviously they were in a back room. Akane sprinted around the side of the building and into an alley that would take her to the rear. There was an emergency exit and a small window around back from where she could mount her rescue. Nimbly she climbed up on top of some conveniently placed trash cans and peered into the window to count the number of muggers and rapists she'd have to mangle.

The room Akane was looking into must have been where Michiko did all of her work. There was a chair that reminded Akane too much of a dentist's chair, along with a side table holding the tools of the trade, including a dismantled tattoo gun. On one wall there were hundreds of small pictures, a catalogue of what the artist was able to draw. Against the opposite wall was a counter and sink, and a naked and tattooed man was standing in front of the counter, thrusting at an unknown victim who let out another scream. "Yakuza!" Akane breathed as she watched the man continue to assault the woman.

She was about to jump down off of her trash can and bust down the door when the woman slapped the man on the ass and squeezed. "Come on baby, harder!" she cried.

Akane gaped like a fish. She knew that voice, it was Michiko. And it seemed like she didn't need any help after all. Akane was about to jump down and go back around front where she could die of embarrassment, when the "Yakuza" man picked up his lover and carried her over to the chair. Sitting down, he left Michiko on top, and she immediately picked up the rhythm once more, riding him hard, her black and pink hair flailing all around her.

Unable to tear her eyes away from the carnal show, Akane watched as the pair made love. No, this wasn't making love like she read about in Kasumi's trashy novels or fantasized about, this was hardcore fucking. Michiko leaned back in her "saddle" and Akane was able to see her entire front. More tattoos covered her torso, one snaked around her middle like a belt, while another looked like a man putting a golf ball into her navel. Akane couldn't help but wonder if that one lowered her handicap.

While the tattoos were interesting, it was the jewelry that caught Akane's attention the most. Michiko had both of her nipples pierced with straight barbells, her belly button pierced with a dangling jewel that shimmered and shined in the light as she moved, and true to her word, a hood piercing and one in her labia. She was also shaved, which only served to show off a piercing that came out just over her pubic bone, but where the other end of that piercing came out she couldn't see. Even Michiko's lover had piercings all over his face and both nipples.

Akane couldn't tear her eyes away from the metal studded couple as the moved together. She was suddenly very much aware of her own piercing down between her legs, and reached down to touch it over her clothing. The fire that she used in her new attacks was burning very hotly as she watched the two, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to control it much longer.

Suddenly Michiko cried out once more and stopped moving. Her lover grimaced, very possibly climaxing as well. Michiko collapsed, laying down on his chest as both tried to catch their breath. Akane had no idea that sex wore you out so much, though she had to admit she was feeling a little winded herself, and she was just watching. Just then, Michiko turned her head towards Akane's window, and gave the voyeur a smile and a wink. Akane fell off of the trash can in alarm, trying to get away from the window, but it was obvious that she had been seen.

Bruised, embarrassed, and more than a little turned on, Akane walked around to the front of the parlor again. She made it just in time to see Michiko kissing her lover goodbye as he left for parts unknown. Michiko smiled that sly smile again. "So! Did you enjoy the show?" she asked, then laughed when Akane turned beet red.

The embarrassed woman tried to stutter out an explanation as to what she was doing at the window, but couldn't seem to form two words in a row. "Thought… trouble…"

Michiko seemed to get the gist. "Yeah I can be a bit of a screamer, sorry I made you worry." She opened the door and motioned for Akane to enter. "But that's not why you came here today is it? You want to ask me about your little present." She made sure the door was locked and guided her beet red friend into the back room.

Akane was worried for a moment that the room she was being led into was the one where she had watched Michiko and her lover break all sorts of health codes, but it turned out to be an office instead. Michiko offered Akane a seat before sitting down behind the desk herself. "So? Did it work?"

Akane managed to marginally get over her embarrassment in order to respond. "Yes, I can touch my ki much more easily now thanks to you. I just need a little training on how to control it better." She was surprised at the fact that she wasn't screaming at the woman in front of her for piercing her in the first place, but didn't dwell to heavily on it. It really did work after all. "I'm still trying to get used to feeling it though, it can be… uncomfortable… at times."

Michiko opened a drawer in her desk and started rummaging around. "Is it a burning sensation or itching?" she asked as she pulled out various bottles of soap and ointment. "My school has ways of speeding up healing time and lessening the chance of infection, but you still need to wash and be careful with it for a while afterwards."

Akane's face, which had finally resumed it's natural shade of pink, darkened once more as the blood rushed back. "No, it's not… bad… just uncomfortable…"

Michiko stared at Akane for a while before she read between the lines. "Ahhhh, so little Akane-chan is much more virginal than I originally thought," she said with a smirk. "That's natural Akane. In fact you might want to explore those feelings a little more yourself next time you get some privacy." Her smirk became an amused smile as Akane nearly fell out of her chair.

"I… I don't… you know… it's perverted!" Akane protested.

Struggling to keep from laughing at the younger woman, Michiko shook her head at the naïveté of that statement. "Trust me Akane, it will help you blow off some of that steam that's been building for quite some time. Plus, it's a good way to get your heart pumping, your endorphins flowing, and when you're pierced the way you are, it can help you with your control issues as well." She leaned across the desk. "It's even better when you do it with someone special, but I can see you're not ready for that quite yet."

Happy that a means to change the subject had come up, Akane pounced on it. "So who was that guy you were… with… earlier?"

"Osamu-chan? He's my boyfriend," Michiko replied, then looked down at her hands and smiled. "Actually, he's my fiancé now. He asked me to marry him this afternoon and I said yes! You walked in on us celebrating." She held up her left hand to show off her new piece of jewelry, a silver ring with a tiny diamond mounted on top circling her ring finger on her left hand.

Akane smiled and offered her congratulations as Michiko bubbled with excitement about her upcoming nuptials. She tried to pay attention to what the older woman was saying, but the things she had said earlier about how to help her control her ki kept nagging at her. She couldn't actually… could she?

---***---

Looking up information about body piercings on Wikipedia is fun AND educational!

In case anyone has any fears that Michiko is going to turn into a Mary Sue character, I can assure you that is the last thing I want. She is only going to play a supporting role as Akane's new friend and mentor. She isn't going to try to get her to end up with Ranma or vice versa. Besides, she couldn't be more different than me. I don't have any piercings or tattoos, due to the fact that I hate needles.

Chapter 3 is started, but has a way to go yet before it's complete. I can tell you however that it contains a rather naughty scene where Akane gets to know herself a little better, and Ranma tries to figure out exactly what Akane's been up to this week. Hilarity ensues!


	3. Chapter 3

Akane sat in the furo, letting the hot water take away her tensions. Well, most of them at least. There was still a slight buzzing in her loins, but she wasn't quite ready to take Michiko's advice about how to scratch that itch just yet.

With a sigh, she stood up and grabbed her towel to dry off. Exiting the bath, she donned her robe, and climbed the stairs up to her room to do her homework. She noticed she was getting used to her piercing, as it no longer bothered her as she walked up the stairs. This realization made her sigh in relief. The last thing she needed was to be working herself into a tizzy every time she walked. As it was she'd already had to shave away all of her pubic hairs so that the piercing would no longer pull on them at inconvenient times, such as when walking or standing up to answer a question in class.

She reached her room and making sure to lock the door behind her, she fell onto the bed face first. The last few days since she'd walked in on her friend had been both exciting and stressful. She had taken to honing her new powers in the dojo late at night so as to maintain secrecy. She wanted to learn how to project her ki like Ranma could and surprise him. She'd even been meeting with Michiko after school to get some hints as to how to control her ki better.

The stressful part was due to the fact that ever since Ranma had witnessed her power first hand in the bath, he'd been trying to keep a closer eye on her. She knew how competitive he was and he probably regained being knocked out by the blast as a loss, meaning he was going to do whatever it took to get on top. Akane cursed as that mental image stoked the fires she'd just spent the last hour trying to get under control.

She had to admit though that she was having a lot of fun keeping her secret from her fiancé. It turned out to be good training too, as Ranma tried everything he knew to follow her around to see where she was going to get her training and instruction. Akane wasn't sure if it was because she had better control of her ki now, but she always knew where he was, and was able to lose him easily, even when he was trying to use his umi sen ken. All she had to do was go into the drug store and browse the feminine hygiene aisle. He'd quickly lose interest, and she could sneak out the side door and run to the tattoo parlor before he could pick up her trail again.

Michiko had laughed when Akane told her about the "game" she'd been playing with her fiancé. "It's because you're in touch with your ki all the time rather than only calling on it when you need it," she explained. "You can sense Ranma's attention on you because he's using his own ki to try to remove his presence from you. You can feel the void he leaves among all the people who aren't trying to hide."

Akane stood and started to dress. While evading Ranma had been fun, waiting until he'd gone to bed to work out in the dojo was starting to get to her. She'd started falling asleep in class every so often, and it was becoming harder to do her homework at night as a result. What used to take her an hour was taking twice as long because she had to figure out how to do the work first. There was one small advantage to this though, Ranma typically left her alone when she was in her room.

Akane opened her closet to pull out her clothes when she heard a plaintive "bwee" from the bottom of her closet. She smiled as she picked up her pet pig. "Hey P-chan! Where have you been sweetie?"

P-chan responded with another "bwee" and cuddled in close to her chest, still covered by her robe. Akane gave him a squeeze before carrying him over to her door. "Momma's going to get dressed now so you wait outside, ok?" She set him down outside and gently shut the door. She felt rather silly about being embarrassed about undressing in front of her pet, but she still wasn't ready to reveal her piercing to anybody, and that included P-chan, regardless of whether he knew what it was or not.

Returning to her closet, she removed her robe and hung it on a hanger before pulling out a big comfy sweat shirt and pulling it over her head. It was an old shirt that had once belonged to her father, so it hung down to her mid thigh. She then rummaged around in her drawers to find a pair of panties, only to discover that she was out. Kasumi hadn't finished the laundry yet apparently. She briefly considered donning a dirty pair, but figured she could get away without. She opened another drawer to find a pair of sweat pants, only to discover that she was out of those as well.

Now she was in a bit of a pickle. The sweatshirt did cover everything, but she would be bare otherwise. Akane worried her lip with her teeth while she tried to decide what to do. Looking at her alarm clock, she figured that it was late enough that she could just go to bed after her homework was done, and nobody would be the wiser about her choice of dress. As long as she got up early enough to run down to the laundry room to see if there were any clean panties that hadn't made it up to her room yet. "Sorry P-chan," she muttered under her breath. "Looks like you're sleeping out there tonight."

* * *

Ranma took the stairs two at a time on his way up to bed. He paused momentarily outside Akane's door, curious to see Ryoga in his cursed form looking longingly up at the closed entryway. "Hey P-chan! Akane finally kick you out?" he called. The pig turned to his rival and gave him a dirty look, growling under his breath. Ranma picked him up by the bandanna around his neck and carried him back downstairs to the furo, tossing him into the hot bath water. The dirty look remained, but it was now emblazoned on a young man's face instead of a pig's.

"You told her!" Ryoga accused.

Ranma's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "You mean she finally figured out who you are?"

"Of course she knows!" came the heated reply. "She kicked me out! You must have told her! She never kicks me out when she…" Ryoga stopped short, realizing exactly what he was about to admit to. His nose started a slow bleed. Ranma gave his rival a dirty look in return.

"So she kicked you out while she was changing?" he asked dangerously. At the small nod, he grabbed Ryoga's head and pushed it under the water, holding him there. "Well I didn't tell her. Maybe she finally figured it out by herself." Once the bubbles stopped coming up he pulled his victim out of the water.

Ryoga hacked and coughed while he tried to recover from his near drowning. He wanted to cry. The love of his life knew his darkest secret. But then he remembered what happened before she put him out of her room. She'd hugged him just like she always had. Maybe she still liked him despite the curse! A wide smile appeared on his face, and he looked up at Ranma. "She still likes me! Despite my curse she still likes me!" Ranma made a move to give him another dunking, but Ryoga knocked him aside and ran for the door. "Akane! I'm coming!" he shouted in his excitement.

Before Ranma could catch him, he was already out the door. Knowing it was futile, he tried to follow, but it was obvious from the wet foot prints that Ryoga had already gotten lost again, having turned the wrong way and gone out the front door rather than back up stairs. Despite himself, Ranma hoped that Ryoga had thought to grab a change of clothes on the way out.

Looking up at the clock in the hallway, Ranma figured it was too late to ask Akane about what had just happened, and instead went to bed himself. His last thought before he went to sleep was to wonder why Akane thought she'd need privacy tonight, even to the point that she kicked out her beloved pet pig.

* * *

Akane woke with a start just as Ranma was about to push in. Or at least, the Ranma in her dream was about to do that. She sat up in her bed, trying to catch her breath as the fire raged in her belly. She also felt rather sticky between her legs. She reached down between them to find that she'd been so aroused that she'd left a wet spot on the sheets, and that she was still dribbling.

She couldn't take it anymore. She kicked the blankets off of her bed and laid back down, her hand still tucked in between her legs. She rubbed herself up and down with the tips of her fingers, pushing gently on her lower lips. Her fingers would occasionally brush her piercing, which would send a shock up her spine as it moved against her clitoris. She was glad she'd shaved herself now, as the smooth skin allowed her to feel more of what she was doing.

Her other hand wasn't idle as it migrated up her torso to grab at her aching breasts, massaging them over her loose sweat shirt. This wasn't enough so she reached down to the hem of the shirt and drew it up to her chin, exposing herself fully to the air. She grabbed onto a dark nipple and started to gently pinch and twist, wondering what a piercing up there would feel like, and what power it might unlock.

A moan that sounded suspiciously like Ranma's name escaped her lips as she masturbated. Her middle finger had slipped inside her clutching vagina completely by accident, but it filled the emptiness she'd been feeling so she kept it in, stroking her insides as her palm rested heavily on her pierced clit. She could feel the wave building higher and higher, and was a little afraid of what would happen when it finally crested.

It did just that when she slid a second finger into her soaking wet pussy. The extra digit stretched her a bit, adding just the right amount of stimulation to send her crashing into orgasm. The rush of endorphins made her cry out in ecstasy. She quickly moved her hand from her breast to cover her mouth lest somebody hear her and come running. A small part of her mind thought that that might not be so bad if it were Ranma who burst into her room, but she quickly quashed that idea.

Akane breathed heavily as she came down off of her high, feeling wonderful and wondering just why she'd been so against that in the first place. She also realized that the burning in her belly that had been driving her insane since she'd gotten her piercing had finally died down to nearly nothing. She sighed in relief and relaxed back into her bed, fully intending to go back to sleep for however much longer she had before her alarm went off, when she remembered just why she was half naked in bed in the first place.

Grumbling, Akane got out of bed and stretched long and hard. Despite wanting to go back to sleep a few minutes ago, she now felt rather relaxed and refreshed for the first time in days. This made her feel rather silly for resisting for so long, but now she knew how to quench the fires the next time they grew too hot.

Slowly opening her door, she peaked her head out first, looking up and down the hallway making sure the coast was clear. There was nobody around, so she ventured out into the hallway, tugging slightly on the hem of her shirt to make sure it covered her bottom. She pulled her door shut behind her and winced as it clicked shut. In her mind the sound echoed up and down the hall, but nobody seemed to notice. She padded quietly down the hall and down the stairs to the laundry room to find a pair of panties.

* * *

Ranma woke from a fitful sleep when he heard a door shut out in the hall. Normally such a small noise wouldn't have woken him, he was a very sound sleeper, but he hadn't been able to sleep well ever since he got blasted in the bath by Akane. He had to figure out how she'd done that, and how he might counter it next time.

He listened to the footsteps as the padded down the hall, instantly knowing that it was his fiancée. He decided to get up and follow her in case she went out to the dojo. If he could watch her training, maybe he could work out what she was doing.

Akane had just reached the laundry room when she felt Ranma come up behind her. She turned with a smirk to catch him trying to sneak up behind her in his umi sen ken stance. "It's not nice to sneak up on people Ranma," she teased.

Ranma looked at her incredulously. "How the hell did you know where I was?"

Akane just giggled. "It's a secret!" She turned around and entered the laundry room. Ranma followed, looking around to see if there was a mirror or something that she might have caught his reflection in. The front of the dryer had a glass door, but there hadn't been any light to allow the reflection until Akane had turned on the overhead light. He was still scanning the room when Akane crouched down in front of the dryer, distracting him with the interesting shape that formed when her shirt stretched over her behind.

"Uh… what are you looking for?" he asked, prying his eyes away from her butt before she could catch him.

"If you must know, I'm out of clean panties and I was hoping there were some down here in the dryer," she replied as she shut the door. "But it looks like Kasumi hasn't done any laundry yet."

Breaking the eye contact he was trying hard to maintain lest he stare at her bare legs, Ranma pointed up above the dryer. "There are a bunch hanging from that thing up there," he said pointing.

Akane looked up where he was pointing and saw an underwear hanger hanging from a hook on the ceiling, each clip holding a pair of panties. "Oh. I hope some of those are mine." She was too short to reach the hanger, so she looked around until she saw a small step stool she could stand on. She reached up and started sifting through the underwear.

Ranma looked around for something other than her legs to focus on, and found a coin on the ground. He bent over to pick it up, but looked up suddenly when he heard a thump. Akane had put her knee on top of the dryer to get high enough to reach the hanger. From his position near the floor, he was getting quite a view of her legs, and even higher. Reaching for the panties had caused her shirt to ride up and expose her bottom to him, and because of his low position and the way she was spreading her legs, he could see all the way up between them.

The first thing he noticed was the glistening wetness on her upper thighs, which led him to realizing that she was shaved all the way up. A trickle of blood seeped out of his nose as he recalled hearing from his friends that this was called "paipan" and that it was very special when one of their girlfriends did it for them. However it was the glint of light off of what looked like a piece of jewelry that made him gasp involuntarily.

Akane had just snagged a pair of panties when she heard the gasp. Turning her head she noticed Ranma down on the floor, getting a damned good show. Embarrassed, she quickly hopped down from the dryer, grasping onto the hem of her shirt to keep it from riding up again, before beating a hasty retreat out of the laundry room, pounding up the stairs, and slamming her door behind her.

Ranma stood, stunned at what he just saw. A piercing? Akane? Down THERE? All the pieces were starting to fall into place for him now. First there was the new powers and all the secrecy behind them. Then the fact that she left P-chan out all night, and now the fact that she was dripping wet, a state which Ranma was familiar with, and had a piercing in a rather intimate place. It could only mean one thing: she was fucking her new sensei as payment for whatever he was teaching her, and he made her get the piercing as a way of marking her as part of his harem. Ranma was furious. He was going to find out who this new sensei was, and kick his ass. And then he'd… well he didn't know what he'd do about Akane…

Akane collapsed onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. She couldn't believe she'd exposed herself like that to Ranma! She knew he saw it too! If his eyes had opened any wider they would have rolled out of his skull! She screamed again. All of that hard work and now he knew how she gained her power. He'd probably tell her father or Kasumi and they'd tell her to take it out.

She sighed and turned over in bed. Well it was fun while it lasted. Maybe she could convince them to let her keep it if she said she was wearing it to honor her mother.

* * *

Bathed, dressed, and ready to face the music, Akane sat down heavily at her place for breakfast, but nobody seemed to notice. Soun was reading his paper, Kasumi was busy filling her rice bowl, Nabiki was drinking her coffee, and Genma was devouring everything in sight. It was then that she noticed Ranma wasn't at the table. "Where's Ranma?" she asked.

"He said he had something he needed to do this morning," replied Nabiki. "He looked rather pissed too. Is Pantyhose Taro back in town?"

Akane shook her head but didn't elaborate. He was angry? But he didn't tell anyone about the piercing? What was going on?

* * *

AN: Hey would you look at that, an update! Sorry it's not JWCH, but my muse decided it wanted to work on this story instead.


	4. Chapter 4

Ranma stood outside the tattoo parlor fuming. He'd run up to Akane's room to catch the bastard with his pants down, but there had been no trace of him anywhere save for an open window. This was just further proof that Akane's new sensei was a martial artist. If he was able to teach Akane such a powerful attack, he must be a good one as well.

Knowing this, Ranma had decided to do some detective work and ask the person who had done Akane's piercing who had been with her when she'd had the work done. Considering the name of the shop was Martial Arts Body Art, he figured it would be his best bet at getting some information. After all, it was where _he_ would go. Now, how to obtain that information? A nearby water fountain gave him an idea.

Michiko looked up from her paperwork when she heard the bells on the door jingle. A short girl with the wildest dye job she'd seen walked into the store. Who ever heard of red hair on a Japanese person? She had to admit though, it looked really good, almost natural. She'd have to remember to ask where she'd gotten the dye. "Welcome to Martial Arts Body Art, how can I help you?" she asked.

The girl eyed her suspiciously, but Michiko was used to people thinking she was Yakuza. "Yeah a friend of mine had some work done and I was wondering if she had it done here. Her name is Akane Tendo."

Michiko fought to keep her face neutral, glad for that piercing in her eyebrow which helped her to maintain her cool. "Sorry, company policy, we don't reveal anything about our customers to other people, only the police, and only if they have a warrant." Especially if that person in question was her friend. Of course, there was no need to turn away a potential customer. "If you tell me what she got, I can do it for you though. I'll even match the price she paid for the work."

Ranma frowned. Obviously the decorated woman knew more than she was saying. He'd have to draw it out of her somehow. "What is Martial Arts Body Art anyway?" she asked innocently.

Michiko's eyes brightened. "It's my own style. Various tattoos and piercings affect the ki points to increase your strength, stamina, and various other abilities." She waved her hands in front of herself, indicating her own art. "With training, someone who has as much work done as I do can take down a person three times their size."

"So it's a cheat," Ranma said disdainfully. "A shortcut."

Michiko eyed her. "No more than acupuncture or moxibustion is. You still need to train your abilities, the artwork just makes it easier to access them."

Ranma nodded, as if conceding the point, but she still looked suspicious. "I've heard of a similar art. It would make you the world's strongest fighter if you paint a magic doodle on your belly."

"I've heard of that," Michiko interrupted. The problem is that the doodle looks ridiculous, and it prevents people from getting close to you without beating them up. My art doesn't take over your body like that, it just enhances it. And while certain points of the body need to be engaged, the art itself can be anything you want it to be."

Ranma pondered this. It was still a shortcut, but it was looking less like a cheat. Plus his interest in anything with "martial" in the title was starting to kick in. "So what kind of stuff can a piercing do?"

Michiko smiled. It was almost too easy.

* * *

Ranma exited the parlor red faced, and at a fast walk. She couldn't believe she'd done that. Michiko kept dodging her questions about Akane, not even confirming that she'd done the work in the first place. Instead they'd gotten into a conversation about the various effects a piercing might have. Of course, once they started talking anatomy, Ranma had become shy, and couldn't ask about piercing the lady parts. Heck she didn't even know the name of the part she was curious about. Michiko had pulled out a book with diagrams of ki points and was explaining what they all did when they came across one that intrigued her: absorption of ki attacks. Impulsively, she'd asked for it, figuring this way she could counter anything Akane's sensei might be able to do when she finally found him. Not to mention Akane's new attack she'd used on him in the bath.

Of course, now that she _had_ the piercing, she was embarrassed as all hell. She could feel it, not that it still hurt, but it was definitely there. It wasn't anything fancy, just a straight barbell with stainless steel beads on the ends, but the location!

She decided to skip school, and instead ran home. She snuck around back and peeked into the high window in the furo. Empty. Perfect. Climbing in, she quickly shucked her clothes, and sat on the stool to wash herself. The area around the piercing was still red, but it didn't hurt as she washed all around it. She gasped, however, at the sensation that occurred when she poured cold rinse water over hear head. It wasn't painful, but disturbingly pleasant.

Finally she climbed into the furo, and sighed as the transformation took place. He had to admit he'd been a little scared something would have gone wrong considering it was messing with his ki, but Michiko had assured him that the effect would be the same on a guy, though she had been puzzled as to why the red haired girl was asking that particular question. He sat back in the tub and thought about his next move. He still needed to figure out who Akane's sensei was. He rubbed at his chest which was still tingling. Then maybe he could take this damned thing out of his nipple.

* * *

Akane wasn't having a good day. She'd been nervous all morning about what Ranma was going to say to her about the piercing, and that only got worse when he never showed up for school. Just what was he doing? Had he told her family? Maybe he'd figured out who had done the piercing and gone to confront Michiko. She quickly changed direction and ran towards the tattoo parlor.

Michiko looked up at the sound of the bells. She became concerned when she noticed it was Akane, and that she was breathing hard. "What happened?" she asked as she came around the counter.

"Did Ranma come by today?" Akane asked in a rush.

"Your fiancé? No, why?"

Akane sighed in relief. "He found out about the piercing, and I was afraid he would do something… rash."

Michiko went from concerned to smiling in a heartbeat. "You showed it to him? Did he like it?"

Akane had finally caught her breath, but her face turned a darker shade of red. "It was an accident…" she mumbled. "And anyway, he wasn't happy."

"Wait, I think I'm missing something here. Sit down and tell me what happened." She went over to the water cooler and got Akane a drink while the younger girl told the story.

"So after I embarrassed myself, I was so sure he was going to tell someone and they were going to tell me to take it out, but then he didn't, and I haven't seen him all day, so I don't know what he's going to do, and it's driving me crazy!" She took a deep breath and a big drink of her water, trying to calm down.

Michiko just smiled at her, full of mirth. "You know, maybe he liked what he saw, and he's just as embarrassed as you are about the accidental show he got." Akane blushed hard, but didn't say anything. "Actually I'm glad you came by, someone came in this morning asking about you. I denied I even knew you, but I figured you should know."

Akane looked up, curious. "Who was it?"

"I can't remember her name, but she said she knew you. Short, buxom girl with red hair?" She was surprised when Akane groaned. "Someone you know?"

"Yeah, though I think you need to sit down for this one," Akane said, offering her seat to her friend.

Ten minutes later, Michiko had the whole story, and she was staring at Akane as if she had grown another head. "So that chesty girl that came in this morning is your fiancé, who can turn into a girl by splashing himself with cold water, and turns back with hot water." Akane nodded. Michiko broke out into laughter. "Yeah right! Not with those boobs!"

Akane sighed. "Why is it that everyone always notices his chest?" she asked nobody in particular.

"Because I had a handful of them today when I gave that girl her piercing," Michiko said, smiling widely. "And there was nothing fake about them."

"Well yeah, they're magic, not cosmetic," replied Akane. Then she did a double take. "Wait what did you say?"

"She came in and asked about a piercing, probably because she knew you had one, so I told her about my art, then showed her some diagrams of ki points, and she decided to get a defensive piercing. Left nipple."

Akane gaped at the older woman. "Ranma? A _nipple_ piercing?"

"I tell you, whoever that girl's boyfriend is, he's a lucky guy," Michiko continued, still not believing Akane. "I did him a favor and tweaked it a bit to make it more sensitive once it heals. Boys always like to play with shiny things." She smiled devilishly.

Akane stared at her, then cracked up laughing. Michiko looked perturbed. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I'm just imagining what he's going to be going through once that kicks in," Akane chuckled. "So you said that the piercing was defensive? What does it do?"

Michiko still didn't believe what Akane was saying about the magic, but the younger girl was sticking to the story really well. "Absorption of ki attacks." A light bulb came on in her mind. "She asked if it would have the same effect on a guy! You mean she really _does_ change sex like that? I thought she was just trying to act cool by talking all masculine!" Now Michiko did sit. "Oh, he's not going to like the side effect."

"Yeah I bet," Akane giggled.

Michiko shook her head. "No I mean the other side effect. The tweak I did only works when she… he… is aroused. Otherwise it would be too distracting to even wear a shirt. The actual effect the piercing has works a little differently on men since their flow is different. In both it allows the wearer to absorb the attack, but women can dissipate the energy with minimal effort, just a slight tingling that's quite pleasant. In a guy however, the sensation is… intense."

"Painful?" asked Akane.

"No… it's been described to me as 'orgasmic.'"

Akane burst into laughter, falling out of her chair in the process. She picked herself up off of the floor, still giggling. "So the next time Ranma gets into a fight with Ryoga, he's going to make a mess in his pants? Oh that's just too funny!" She kept laughing until tears ran down her face.

For her part, Michiko was still somewhat stunned about this turn of events, but eventually started to chuckle along with her friend. "So what are you going to do about it then? It sounds to me like he's gearing up to try to counter your new attack. Side effects or not, he will be able to now."

Akane sobered, pondering her next move. She brightened as an idea came to her. "I think I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help." She leaned in and explained her plan to the tattooed woman, who couldn't help but crack up when she heard the end. Especially when she realized that there could be unintended results her slightly naïve friend hadn't considered.

* * *

A week after getting his "enhancement" Ranma was practicing what he'd been taught by Michiko about how to absorb ki from an attack in the dojo by tossing a small ki ball into the air, and absorbing it before it hit the ground. He found out that if he concentrated, he could use the ability at will, with result similar to what his teacher Ms. Hinako was able to do with her coin. He even found that making a circle with his hands it helped to funnel the energy. He wished he'd known that it was going to be the same as what his teacher was able to do, he would have rather had the pressure points on his back and chest played with rather than getting his nipple pierced, but at the same time he was glad he didn't have to deal with the whole age regression aspect.

He hadn't been able to test it on a strong ki attack yet, as Ryoga hadn't been around in a while and he was slightly afraid of destroying the dojo if one of his own attacks got away from him. He knew he was doing it right however, as he'd experimented on his classmates. Whenever he tried it on someone, they'd start to yawn, or even fall asleep as he drained them. He even felt a tingling sensation whenever it happened, proving that he was absorbing their energy. The feeling was actually rather pleasant, heady, and somewhat familiar.

He was in the dojo doing his regular workout when Akane walked in. He'd kind of been avoiding her, as much as possible at least, for the last week while he tried to figure out who her sensei was. He'd been back to the tattoo parlor in his girl form a number of times, asking for pointers on how his new ability worked, and trying to dig for information on his fiancée. The owner was still defiant, but he was wearing her down, as she'd acknowledged at least that she knew Akane, but she still wasn't saying if she had done the piercing, or even what effect it had.

"Hey Ranma, long time no see!" called Akane. He smiled politely at her but didn't say anything. Instead, he just went back to his workout.

Akane approached and started to follow along with the kata, quickly falling into sync with him. He watched her for a while, admiring her form. He sometimes forgot that she was actually a really good martial artist. Then he remembered that he was mad at her, and concentrated on his own kata.

They finished the workout at the same time, and Akane turned to face her fiancé. "Wanna spar?" she asked innocently.

Ranma looked her over, trying to decide what to do. Maybe he could get some information straight from the source? "Ok, lets see what you can do." He adopted his typical loose stance, expecting Akane to come at him hard with her fists as usual. Instead, she surprised him with a jumping kick, an aerial attack more suited to his own style. He was so surprised that he nearly forgot to duck.

Akane grinned when she realized she had the advantage. "You're getting slow Ranma," she teased as she pressed her attack, punching at his stomach.

Ranma managed to dodge the blow, but the had to block the kick that followed it. Her style was still largely ground based, but she was much lighter on her feet, which allowed her to blend in the aerial attacks that were new to her technique. He could still defend against it, but he had to concentrate.

Then his opponent did something completely unexpected. Without even a hint of drawing on her emotions, she created a softball sized ball of ki in her hand, and threw it at him at close range. He barely had enough time to throw his hands up in front of his face to catch and absorb the attack. He flipped away from her to catch his breath as the heady sensation that was usually just a pleasant tingling, rushed through his body, much stronger than ever before.

"Woah," he said as he tried to get control of himself. The feeling wasn't bad, in fact it was _really_ good, but he certainly wasn't expecting it to be that intense. It almost felt like…

Akane pressed her attack, leaping high and kicking down at his head. He reached up just in time and grabbed her leg, using her momentum to toss her away. He was amazed when she recovered from the fall, catching herself on her hands and flipping to her feet. "What's the matter Ranma?" she asked teasingly. "Feeling lightheaded?"

Ranma frowned at her. "What do you know about it?"

Akane just smiled enigmatically, before tossing another ki ball his way. Her training with Michiko over the last week had paid off, as she was able to form a ball at will and send them flying now. They weren't as strong as the ones Ranma or Ryoga could do yet, but she knew that was only a matter of time.

Ranma dodged the first attack by jumping straight up, but Akane was able to chuck another at him before he could land, forcing him to absorb it. He staggered a bit upon landing as his mind clouded over and he felt weak in the knees. It was also affecting him in other ways, most noticeably by pitching a tent in his pants. He always got excited during a fight, but this was ridiculous. He needed to end this now before he embarrassed himself.

As soon as he caught his footing he charged at Akane, dodging the ki balls she hurled at him. He didn't strike out at her, instead wrapping his arms around her and tackling her. Akane was briefly stunned when the back of her head struck the floor, but she quickly recovered, struggling against him. Ranma had the leverage though, and had her arms pinned to her sides. Both fighters were breathing hard, and she could feel his heart beating in his chest. But that wasn't all she could feel.

"Is that a roll of coins in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?" she teased. She was beginning to understand why Ranma taunted his opponents. It really was a lot of fun.

Ranma ignored the jibe. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" he demanded. "Who's your sensei?"

"What's it to you?" she asked. "I wasn't getting what I needed at home, so I went looking elsewhere." the double meaning wasn't lost on Ranma, and she smiled smugly as his face turned red. "Why, did you want to ask for some lessons? Sorry, I don't think Sensei is accepting any more students."

"That's ok, I don't think I can pay him in the way he wants anyway," Ranma shot back, tightening his grip on her torso and positioning his legs to cover hers, further preventing her from moving or getting up. He wasn't going to let her go until she answered his questions.

Akane's face grew serious. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I know you've been sleeping with him as payment for the lessons he's been giving you." He tightened his grip as the enraged woman started to struggle against him. "So who is he?"

Akane was livid. How dare he? "Where did you get that idea you idiot?" she said through gritted teeth.

"That show you gave me that morning proved it," he accused. "You were soaking wet down there. Not to mention the piercing he made you get. He's just using that to mark you as his own you know."

This time it was Akane's turn to blush. She wasn't about to admit what she _had_ been doing that caused her to be so wet, but now she could understand why he'd been avoiding her for a week. "I'm not sleeping with my sensei," she said, looking him dead in the eye.

Ranma watched her face carefully, but she seemed adamant. He relaxed his grip slightly and shifted his weight, but he made no move to let her up. "So…" he started, still curious about the piercing, but now that he was no longer angry, he was too embarrassed to ask. He shifted again.

Akane inhaled sharply. She knew Ranma would be aroused and frustrated, that was part of the plan to take him down in the fight after all, but the evidence was now poking her through their clothes in a rather sensitive area, one that hadn't been getting much attention in the last week. The burning in her belly was back with a vengeance, and hotter than ever.

Ranma froze when he heard Akane gasp. He was still light headed from the fight, but he knew exactly had caused her to make that noise. He waited for her to struggle again, to try to beat him to a pulp, or even to just say something, but she didn't. She just looked up at him with those big brown eyes, her lips parted slightly as her breathing became husky. Hormones rushing in his ears, he leaned down and gently kissed her open lips.

Akane enthusiastically returned the kiss, the fire in her belly becoming an inferno. Ranma had loosened his grip enough on her that she was able to free her arms, which she then wrapped around his neck, pulling him down onto her.

Ranma was lost in a haze, enjoying the sensations. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed kiss after kiss with his fiancée, something he never thought he'd do. He found himself moving against her automatically, and was pleasantly surprised when she moved with him.

Akane's eyes opened when he quit kissing her lips, but then closed again when he moved to her neck. She couldn't believe how good this felt. Already she felt higher than she did when she quenched the fires by herself. A small moan escaped her lips, but she found that it was only the first of many as Ranma continued to kiss and suck at her skin. His hand slipped inside her gi, touching the skin of her stomach directly. She moved into his touch. His hand migrated north, brushing the base of her breast.

Loosened by the fight, and what they'd been doing since then, Akane's gi fell open, exposing her bra covered breast to the air. Ranma paused, pulling away to look her in the eye. He wasn't sure how to read the expression on her face, but it wasn't anger. He sat up and removed his own shirt, anxious to keep the heat up lest she decide to change her mind. Yanking his shirt over his head, he quickly laid back down on top of Akane, pressing his lips to hers.

Akane returned the kiss enthusiastically, moaning again when he pushed her sports bra up, and placed his hand fully on her exposed breast, applying gentle but firm pressure. Through the fog of pleasure, she remembered something Michiko had said about tweaking Ranma's piercing. She smiled devilishly into Ranma's kiss, and reached down to grope his chest.

This time it was Ranma who gasped at the sensations coursing through his body. He had no idea that his little accessory would do _that_, though the way Akane was smiling at him, she certainly did. Well two could play that game. Knowing he was playing with fire, but not caring at the moment, he loosened the drawstrings on her pants, and slipped a hand inside, sliding along the smooth skin, and touching her own piercing.

Akane convulsed as her vision briefly went white, climaxing hard as her lover's hand stroked her. He was only touching her piercing and the hood it was attached too, but it was still enough to drive her over the edge over and over as he rubbed in small quick circles. Michiko seemed to be right about that _other_ aspect of her piercing as well. She was burning hot, so she shrugged out of her gi, exposing her torso to him, along with a little surprise.

Ranma paused in his playing, but did not remove his hand. Akane opened her eyes when he stopped, realizing he was staring, not at her chest, but at her belly. She felt another rush of endorphins when she realized what he was looking at. "You like it? It's just henna not permanent, but she said it would work the same as a real one, just to a lesser degree. It's what helped me be lighter on my feet during the fight."

Ranma reached out with his free hand and touched the temporary tattoo surrounding her belly button. It was a dragon, and a rather familiar one at that. "Orochi?" he asked.

Akane nodded. "That battle was very important to me. It was the first time I knew for sure that you liked me, and that I wanted to be with you."

Ranma didn't know what to say. He was touched that she would do that. He removed his hand from her pants, more than a little sticky, and positioned himself to give her a searing kiss, full of passion. He then proceeded to kiss down her neck, between her breasts, before laying a kiss on her belly, right over the largest head of the Orochi.

To Akane, this was the most erotic thing he'd done so far. She wondered if Michiko had done something to tweak her tattoo as the fires burned white hot. She nearly came again when Ranma stuck his tongue in her belly button. She moaned loudly, glad for the fact that the dojo was a separate building, for if it had been attached, someone would have surely heard as she screamed his name.

Still kissing her belly, Ranma grabbed the waist of her pants and panties, and drew them down her legs, pleased when she lifted her hips to help him. He was ecstatic when she then removed her bra, leaving her fully naked and exposed to him. He leaned down so he could see the ring close up. As she had shaved away her pubic hair, the piercing stood out even more, diamonds glittering in the dim light. He leaned in close to her, the musky smell giving him a rush. Akane was breathing hard above him, watching as he leaned in to take the ring in his mouth. She screamed as he licked and sucked at her clit. Her hips pressed up into his face, and her hands grabbed his head, holding him down.

He kept her going again and again for a good long time before he had to come up for air. He then worked his way back up her body, pausing to place another kiss on her belly which made her shudder, before kissing her full on the lips again. She could taste herself on his lips and tongue, but she didn't care. All she cared about was what was rubbing her crotch through his clothes as they moved against each other. She reached down with a free hand and tugged insistently at his pants. Not breaking the kiss, Ranma helped her to pull his pants and boxers down, kicking them off when he got them to his knees.

Both now naked, the teens continued to kiss and move with each other. Ranma's cock was lying along her cleft, and she was moving her hips, grinding against him. Her breath caught in her throat when Ranma reached down and positioned himself at her entrance, pushing in with one firm stroke.

Akane gasped sharply. She was an active girl, so her hymen had been taken care of long ago, but there was still some pain from not being used to having so big an invader. She was more than ready for him though, so he slid in easily.

Ranma let out a shuddering breath of his own, trying to get a hold of himself. He was already about to blow just from the buildup, but he didn't want to stop so soon. He kissed her firmly as he began to thrust, slowly withdrawing before pushing back in firmly. Akane moved her hips in rhythm with him, pushing up to meet him on every stroke.

Akane was loving what was happening, but while he felt so good inside of her, there was just something missing. Ranma was being too gentle with his movements. Every so often he'd push in harder, which would cause her to see sparks at the edge of her vision, but it wasn't nearly enough. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she twisted, rolling them over. She sat up, giving her lover full view of her body as she moved above him.

Ranma was surprised when his lover took control, but wasn't about to start complaining. He reached up to grab on to her breasts as she bounced, trying to add to her pleasure. He was rewarded with a groan which escaped from her lips, as she sat down hard on his pubic bone, grinding herself against him. Suddenly her breath caught in her throat, and she started to shudder, her insides clamping down on him rhythmically as she crested the wave. This sensation sent Ranma over the edge into his own orgasm, filling her with his seed.

Akane shuddered once more on top of Ranma at the sensation of him filling her with the results of his own orgasm. She was glad Kasumi had insisted she go on birth control all those ages ago when her fiancé first showed up on their doorstep. Not that she'd been thinking about it when the whole thing started of course. She hadn't even been planning on ending up naked and writhing on the floor with him when she came up with the plan either. When she looked down at him, breathing heavily, a look of wonder, and awe, and – though he may never admit it – love, was staring her in the face. She leaned down and kissed him full on the lips. No she wasn't planning on doing that today, but she couldn't argue with the results.

* * *

Unknown to the pair of lovers inside the dojo, they had left one of the doors open a crack, enough for a pair of glowing eyes to watch them from near the floor. They narrowed dangerously, before the owner turned tail and left, plotting revenge all the way back to its' home.

* * *

This was already mostly written, the last save was done back in August of last year, and I finally was able to finish it today after leaving it for way too long. I've kinda lost where I wanted to go next, but I have some ideas, so hopefully there should be another chapter out soon!


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